Page 1 INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATASHEET APPRAISAL STAGE I. Basic Information Date prepared/updated: 09/08/2005 Report No.: AC1668 1. Basic Project Data Country: Gabon Project ID: P070232 Project Name: Gabon Forest and Environment Sector Project Task Team Leader: Laurent Debroux GEF Focal Area: Biodiversity Global Supplemental ID: Estimated Appraisal Date: September 8, 2005 Estimated Board Date: January 24, 2006 Managing Unit: AFTS3 Lending Instrument: Sector Adjustment Loan Sector: Forestry (100%) Theme: Environmental policies and institutions (P);Biodiversity (P);Other environment and natural resources management (S) IBRD Amount (US$m.): 0.00 IDA Amount (US$m.): 0.00 GEF Amount (US$m.): 10.00 PCF Amount (US$m.): 0.00 Other financing amounts by source: BORROWER/RECIPIENT 3.60 FOREIGN MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS (UNIDENTIFIED) 27.10 30.70 Environmental Category: A - Full Assessment Simplified Processing Simple [] Repeater [] Is this project processed under OP 8.50 (Emergency Recovery) Yes [ ] No [X] 2. Project Objectives The Project Development Objective is "Biodiversity is protected and managed in a sustainable way and contributes to the diversification of the national economy, through strengthened capacities of parks and wildlife authorities". By working in national parks and surrounding buffer zones and production landscapes, the GEF intervention will adopt an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation. Implementation of concrete on-the- ground activities will strengthen organizational and operational capacities of national parks and wildlife authorities: the National Agency for National Parks (ANPN) and the Ministry of Forest Economy, Fisheries, Environment and Nature Protection (MEFPEPN). The Global Environmental Objective is "Biodiversity conservation in the Congo basin is enhanced". The Congo basin constitutes the world's second largest tropical forest. With forest covering 85% of its territory Gabon accounts for approximately 15% of the Congo Basin rainforest. It encompasses three of the world's globally important eco-regions and it has a particularly high level of biodiversity and endemism. Enhancing the conservation of Page 2 biodiversity in Gabon will make a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation in the Congo basin and at the global level. 3. Project Description The proposed GEF project will be implemented through a US$10 million grant to the government of Gabon within the framework of the PFSE program. It supports components 1 (forest management including wildlife in production landscapes) and 3 (national parks) of the PSFE. It complements an IBRD loan and other donorsâ ™ operations in support of the PSFE. The proposed GEF project consists of the following four components: Component 1 - Institutional strengthening of the ANPN (national level). Component 2 - Expanding Gabon's protected area coverage (national level). Component 3 - Direct support to three selected national parks (site level). Component 4 - Wildlife management in production landscapes (site level) 4. Project Location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis The project will provide direct support to three national parks: Loango, Mukalaba and Mayumba, with an integrated approach to enhance biodiversity conservation and promote participatory management of buffer zones. Mayumba is a marine park, the first one in Gabon. The project will also support wildlife management in buffer zones of two other parks: Lope and Bateké National Parks. 5. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists Mr Robert A. Robelus (AFTS1) Mr Dan R. Aronson (AFTS3) 6. Safeguard Policies Triggered Yes No Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01) X Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04) X Forests (OP/BP 4.36) X Pest Management (OP 4.09) X Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) X Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20) X Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12) X Safety of Dams (OP/BP 4.37) X Projects on International Waterways (OP/BP 7.50) X Projects in Disputed Areas (OP/BP 7.60) X Page 3 II. Key Safeguard Policy Issues and Their Management A. Summary of Key Safeguard Issues 1. Describe any safeguard issues and impacts associated with the proposed project. Identify and describe any potential large scale, significant and/or irreversible impacts: Five safeguard policies are triggered by the GEF intervention. As the projectâ ™soverarching objective is biodiversity conservation and sustainable development, it is expected to have a positive impact on the Environment (OP/BP/GP 4.01), Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4. 04) and Forests (OP/BP 4.36). With respect to Forests, the project will not finance logging operations and will not finance activities that logging companies are required to undertake by law. The project is also likely to have impacts on Involuntary Resettlement (OP 4.12) and on Indigenous People (OD 4.20 converted into OP 4.10 on July 1, 2005). Environmental Assessment (OP/BP 4.01): A Sectoral Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) for the whole PSFE program was conducted in 2002 and updated in 2005. The GEF intervention specifically targets the National Parks and the Forest Management component of the PSFE program through support to three existing national parks, to expansion of protected areas coverage and to wildlife management in production landscapes. Consequently no adverse impacts on the environment are anticipated. On the contrary activities undertaken by the project are designed to reduce already existing environmental risks, such as illegal logging, poaching of wildlife, pollution from forest, mining, fisheries and oil industries. Environmental risks associated with the project mostly refer to cases where forest laws are not fully implemented or the protection of wildlife in national parks and production forests is not adequate, because of lack of capacity or lack of enforcement. Other environmental risks are the potential incompatible land uses between national parks and mining concessions/permits and between national parks and forest concessions, as well as potential deleterious effects of eco-tourism if not adequately regulated. The project will manage these issues through the multi-donor PSFE program. Natural Habitats (OP/BP 4.04): The objective of the GEF intervention is to conserve important areas of natural habitat in national parks and their buffer zones representative to Gabonâ ™s ecological diversity. The project is therefore expected to have a positive impact on natural habitats and biological diversity at national and global level. Hunting in buffer zones should be undertaken with care, in order not to undermine the genetic pool of vulnerable species. Forests (OP/BP 4.36): The GEF intervention will help protect large areas of undisturbed natural forests in forested national parks namely Mukalaba and Loango. It also aims to promote forest conservation by supporting wildlife management in production zones peripheral to these parks and to Lope and Bateke national parks. The project will not finance logging operations and will not finance activities that logging companies are required to undertake by law. By reducing the hunting pressure in production zones the project will conserve wildlife biodiversity in production forests. Indirectly the project will prevent forest degradation that results from extirpation of animal species which are important tree seed dispersers. By helping enforce sustainable forest management plans Page 4 in production forests, the project will help move towards independent certification of forest concessions. Indigenous Peoples (OD 4.20, being revised as OP 4.10, which has become effective as of July 1, 2005): OD 4.20 applies because there are so- called â œpygmyâ groups (with various local names and languages, and still referred to as pygmies even by themselves, or as â œfirst inhabitantsâ in Gabonese parlance) in protected areas and their buffer zones in Gabon. There are an estimated 10,000 indigenous people in Gabon, i.e. 4% of the rural population. Most live in or immediately outside the key forested areas of the country, including those areas being protected environmentally through the creation of the national parks. Though such groups have not been reported in the three parks that will be directly supported by the GEF project, they have been reported in other areas where the project will also have field activities, namely the buffer zone of the Lope and Bateke National Parks. It is also quite likely that the new protected areas to be identified in the context of the GEF project might also be inhabited by indigenous people. The project will therefore pay special attention to their needs and interests to guarantee that the project fosters full respect for their dignity, human rights, and cultural uniqueness and ensure that indigenous people do not suffer adverse effects from the project and receive culturally compatible social and economic benefits. The project subscribes fully to the Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (IPDP) adopted by the Government of Gabon for the entire Forests and Environment Sector Program (PSFE), which provides comprehensive compensation measures to establish equal legal, technical, financial, organisational and cultural opportunities, and commits the government to not removing these peoples from the forests they have historically occupied. Involuntary Resettlement (OP/BP 4.12): As many as 15,000 people live in or immediately adjacent to the thirteen national parks that were created in 2002 or depend on forest resources in those parks for at least part of their livelihoods. An estimated 4,500 people live adjacent to and/or are depending on the natural resources of the three national parks that receive direct support from the GEF project and their buffer zones, and up to 3,500 people might be affected by the project through the new protected areas to be identified in the context of the project. These large numbers of people face the risk of being economically and to a lower extend physically displaced. First mitigation measures in form of policy and legal advice during the elaboration of the law on national parks was put in place by the project to minimise the expected impacts. The law recognises the traditional rights of these people and provides the ground for an effective and timely implementation of further mitigation strategies outlined in the resettlement policy framework of the PSFE. As the intensity and shape of the impact is still to be defined in the management plans of the national parks - to be elaborated in the context of the project - the key principal of the resettlement policy framework is in accordance with the OP 4.12 - to minimise physical resettlement and the loss of access to resources as much as possible. Where physical and/or economic displacement is required, a detailed Resettlement Action Plan will be submitted to the World Bank for approval in advance, and will ensure that no displacement at all occurs without full mitigation in the form of both transitional and long-term arrangements whereby the incomes, livelihood strategies and living standards of affected people will be at least maintained if not actually Page 5 improved through employment, training, financial support and other mitigation measures. For indigenous people, the government has subscribed to the notion that they should be still allowed to use the natural resources of the national parks for subsistence, while receiving full and timely compensation at full replacement costs for the loss of the commercialisation of these resources. As available land seems not to be the problem in Gabon the compensations should be as much as possible land based. Detailed compensation schemes will be defined in a participatory manner in Resettlement Action Plans (RAPs) for all national parks and protected areas supported in the context of the GEF project. Any RAPs which are required as part of protected area management plans will be defined in a participatory manner that includes those to be affected. The RAPs will be disclosed in Libreville and in the office of the Forest Administration and National Park Agency closest to the affected areas as soon as they are prepared by the relevant authority. A Sector Environmental and Social Impact Assessment was prepared for the entire PSFE, including the GEF project. The PSFE will implement the Environmental and Social Management Plan, the Indigenous People Development Plan, the Resettlement Policy Framework and the Process Framework. 2. Describe any potential indirect and/or long term impacts due to anticipated future activities in the project area: Long-term impacts of the Forests and Environmental Sector Program (PSFE) are expected to be positive for floral as well as faunal biodiversity. In production landscapes, there is, however, an environmental risk that floral biodiversity (forests) will be affected negatively after two to three forest rotations, if no adequate forest regeneration activities are carried out by the forest operators, which need to be strictly supervised by the responsible government agencies and civil society, in the framework of the sustainable forest management plans. These actions are part of the PSFE Environmental and Social Management Plan. A long-term social risk could be the impact on the livelihood of the indigenous and rural people living in or near the national parks or the production forests if benefit sharing mechanisms are not adequately implemented as designed. The GEF project will pay particular attention to promote participatory management around national parks and to develop revenue sharing mechanisms. 3. Describe any project alternatives (if relevant) considered to help avoid or minimize adverse impacts. The only project alternative is not to implement the PSFE, which would have much larger long term impacts on the faunal and floral biodiversity and on the rural and indigenous people living in the project areas. This alternative would likely lead to the degradation of unique biodiversity and natural habitats of the Congo basin. In this sense the PSFE program, and the GEF project, do not initiated development impacts on the forests and protected areas that form the zones of the program, but rather control impacts that are already under way and channel them toward rational, sustainable and positive impacts (and away from unsustainably â œminingâ the forest and fishery resources of the country). Page 6 4. Describe measures taken by the borrower to address safeguard policy issues. Provide an assessment of borrower capacity to plan and implement the measures described. A Sectoral Environmental and Social Assessment (SESA) for the whole PSFE program was conducted in 2002 at the initial phase of PSFE preparation, and it was updated in 2005. The SESA report was presented and discussed during the appraisal and the final report will be disclosed 120 days before Board presentation. A Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF), an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan (IPDP) and a Process Framework (PF) have been prepared and have been accepted by the Government of Gabon for the entire PSFE. The RPF, IPDP and PF describe in detail what needs to be done if affected people need to be resettled physically or are affected economically or lose access to traditional natural resources in the new protected areas to be further established. The new draft law on National Parks provides exclusive traditional use rights for subsistence to local communities and indigenous people in national parks. All efforts will be undertaken to minimize impacts on local communities and indigenous people living in or around the national parks to be financed. The IPDP will establish equal legal, technical, financial, organizational and cultural opportunities. Agreements will be negotiated, protected area by protected area, to ensure that the indigenous people's traditional rights are fully respected. 5. Identify the key stakeholders and describe the mechanisms for consultation and disclosure on safeguard policies, with an emphasis on potentially affected people. There has been full participation of project beneficiaries and stakeholders in project preparation. A GEF Stakeholder Participation Plan has been drawn up, which highlights the capabilities, roles and interests of the stakeholders in the project. This has been achieved through an extensive consultation process with local communities, administrative authorities and the private sector (oil/gas companies, tour operators, and logging companies) for the development of the Loango-Mukalaba complex zoning and management plan. The results of a week long workshop organized in January 2005 by the CNPN (National Committee for National Parks) to develop the National Park System Management Plan also served as an important baseline for project design. Stakeholder benefits. Given the rarity of employment opportunities and the low human population densities in rural Gabon, the installation of functioning national parks is expected to have a positive economic impact in terms of stimulating the local economy, providing some employment and improving living standards. In addition, bushmeat exploitation in Gabon today is characterized by unregulated access and virtually no consideration of traditional user rights. Villagers practicing subsistence off-take for local consumption find themselves in conflict with commercial poachers, often from outside of the zone, practicing intensive poaching which results in a noticeable impoverishment of the wildlife resources which threathens long term protein supply for the local population. One of the intended outcomes of the collaborative management activities to be undertaken by component 4 of the GEF intervention will be a clearer definition of user rights leading to stronger local ownership of the bushmeat resources, reduced conflict Page 7 with law enforcement agencies, and and improve sustainable management of protein sources for local populations. The SESA, IPDP and the Resettlement Policy Framework and the Process Framework have been disclosed in-country on 06/23/2005 and in the Infoshop on 08/31/2005 and 9/2/2005 as listed below. B. Disclosure Requirements Date Environmental Assessment/Audit/Management Plan/Other: Date of receipt by the Bank 08/25/2005 Date of "in-country" disclosure 06/23/2005 Date of submission to InfoShop 09/02/2005 For category A projects, date of distributing the Executive Summary of the EA to the Executive Directors 09/07/2005 Resettlement Action Plan/Framework/Policy Process: Date of receipt by the Bank 08/25/2005 Date of "in-country" disclosure 06/23/2005 Date of submission to InfoShop 08/31/2005 Indigenous Peoples Plan/Planning Framework: Date of receipt by the Bank 08/25/2005 Date of "in-country" disclosure 06/23/2005 Date of submission to InfoShop 08/31/2005 * If the project triggers the Pest Management, Cultural Property and/or the Safety of Dams policies, the respective issues are to be addressed and disclosed as part of the Environmental Assessment/Audit/or EMP. If in-country disclosure of any of the above documents is not expected, please explain why: C. Compliance Monitoring Indicators at the Corporate Level (to be filled in when the ISDS is finalized by the project decision meeting) OP/BP/GP 4.01 - Environment Assessment Does the project require a stand-alone EA (including EMP) report? Yes If yes, then did the Regional Environment Unit review and approve the EA report? Yes Are the cost and the accountabilities for the EMP incorporated in the credit/loan? Yes OP/BP 4.04 - Natural Habitats Would the project result in any significant conversion or degradation of critical natural habitats? No If the project would result in significant conversion or degradation of other (non-critical) natural habitats, does the project include mitigation measures No Page 8 acceptable to the Bank? OP/BP 4.10 - Indigenous Peoples Has a separate indigenous people development plan been prepared in consultation with the Indigenous People? Yes If yes, then did the Regional Social Development Unit review the plan? Yes If the whole project is designed to benefit IP, has the design been reviewed and approved by the Regional Social Development Unit? Yes OP/BP 4.12 - Involuntary Resettlement Has a resettlement plan, abbreviated plan, or process framework (as appropriate) been prepared? Yes If yes, then did the Regional Social Development Unit review and approve the plan / policy framework / policy process? Yes OP/BP 4.36 - Forests Has the sector-wide analysis of policy and institutional issues and constraints been carried out? Yes Does the project design include satisfactory measures to overcome these constraints? Yes Does the project finance commercial harvesting, and if so, does it include provisions for certification system? No BP 17.50 - Public Disclosure Have relevant safeguard policies documents been sent to the World Bank's Infoshop? No Have relevant documents been disclosed in-country in a public place in a form and language that are understandable and accessible to project-affected groups and local NGOs? No All Safeguard Policies Have satisfactory calendar, budget and clear institutional responsibilities been prepared for the implementation of measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have costs related to safeguard policy measures been included in the project cost? Yes Does the Monitoring and Evaluation system of the project include the monitoring of safeguard impacts and measures related to safeguard policies? Yes Have satisfactory implementation arrangements been agreed with the borrower and the same been adequately reflected in the project legal documents? Yes Page 9 D. Approvals Signed and submitted by: Name Date Task Team Leader: Mr Laurent Debroux 09/08/2005 Environmental Specialist: Mr Robert A. Robelus 09/08/2005 Social Development Specialist Mr Dan R. Aronson 09/02/2005 Additional Environmental and/or Social Development Specialist(s): Approved by: Regional Safeguards Coordinator: Mr Thomas E. Walton 09/08/2005 Comments: Sector Manager: Mr Joseph Baah-Dwomoh 09/08/2005 Comments: